''State of Happiness'' () is a Norwegian

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television series about the discovery of oil in the North Sea, and subsequent growth of the petroleum industry in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, beginning in 1969. It is directed by

Petter Næss Petter Næss (born 14 March 1960, Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian actor, screenwriter, instructor, and film director. He debuted in 1999 with ''Absolutt blåmandag'' and directed films based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen's ''Elling'' series, including ''E ...

and Pål Jackman, written by Mette Marit Bølstad and coproduced by

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

and

Maipo Film Maipo Film is a Norwegian film production company founded in 2000. It created the Oscar-nominated film "Elling" (2001), starring Per Christian Ellefsen (Elling), Sven Nordin (Kjell Bjarne), Marit Pia Jacobsen (Reidun), Jørgen Langhelle (Frank Åsl ...

. Its first season premiered on NRK1 in 2018, and is set during the years 1969 to 1972. Its second season, covering the years 1977 to 1980, premiered in 2022. A third season, covering the years 1987 to 1990, was ordered in October 2022, with filming commencing in March 2023 and Norwegian premiere on 29 October 2024. The series has drawn comparisons to the American period drama ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

.''

Cast and characters

*Anne Regine Ellingsæter as Anna Hellevik, a secretary and Christian's fiancée *Amund Harboe as Christian Nyman (season 1), an oil rig diver and Anna's fiancé *Paal Herman Ims as Christian Nyman (seasons 2 & 3) * Bart Edwards as Jonathan Kay, a lawyer from

Phillips Petroleum Company Phillips Petroleum Company was an American oil company incorporated in 1917 that expanded into petroleum refining, marketing and transportation, natural gas gathering and the chemicals sectors. It was Phillips Petroleum that first found oil in th ...

(seasons 1 & 2) *Malene Wadel as Toril Torstensen, a young mother and worker at Fredrik Nyman's company * Pia Tjelta as Ingrid Nyman, a socialite, wife of Fredrik, and mother of Christian *Per Kjerstad as Fredrik Nyman, owner of a fish canning company in Stavanger, husband of Ingrid, and father of Christian *

Mads Sjøgård Pettersen Mads Sjøgård Pettersen (born 21 January 1984) is a Norwegian actor known for his role of Fredrik Kayser on mini-series ''The Heavy Water War ''The Heavy Water War'' (original title ' and alternative title ''The Saboteurs'' (United Kingdom ...

as Martin Lekanger, an oil rig diver *

Adam Fergus Adam Fergus is an Irish actor. Early life Born in Drogheda, Ireland on September 24, 1979, and growing up in the nearby village of Laytown, Adam is the son of a nurse and a recruitment specialist. He attended Clongowes College before going t ...

as Ed Young, a businessman from Phillips Petroleum Company *Ole Christoffer Ertvaag as Rein Hellevik, Anna's brother *

Laila Goody Laila Elin Goody (born 22 March 1971) is a Norwegian actress. She was born to an English father who worked in the oil industry and a Norwegian mother. She was born in Stavanger and grew up in Rosendal, Hordaland, between the ages of two and ten ...

as Randi Torstensen, Toril's mother, and a devout Christian *Vegar Hoel as Arne Rettedal, a Stavanger politician *Roar Kjølv Jenssen as Leif Larsen, the mayor of Stavanger *

Peter Førde Peter Førde (born 16 June 1988) is a Norwegian actor. He began acting on stage in his early teens, working on several shorts and indie films before making his feature film debut in ''The Tunnel (2019 film), The Tunnel'' in 2019. He is known for ...

, as Per Arne Bjørklund, a deep sea diver (season 3) * Darius Udrys as Clarkson, a Phillips Petroleum Company executive (season 2)

Awards and accolades

The first season of the series received five

Gullruten Gullruten ("Golden Screen") is an annual award for the Norway, Norwegian TV industry, founded in 1998 by ''Norske Film- og TV-produsenters forening''. The awarding committee has representatives from the major national TV companies, Norwegian Broa ...

awards from among eight nominations in 2019, including best drama series and best actor (Anne Regine Ellingsæter). Its second season received another nine nominations, winning five Gullruten awards in 2022. Internationally, the series won awards for best screenplay and best music at the inaugural Canneseries in 2018. It received nominations in three categories during the 2019

Monte-Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Albert II, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony ...

, but did not win.

International release

Internationally, broadcasters in more than 60 countries have bought rights to the series, according to NRK. The series is known by the title "State of Happiness" in English. In the UK, the series was acquired by BBC Four. It was also acquired for Topic's streaming platform in the United States.

Reception

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

Carol Midgley said that the series,"has a hypnotic charm and easily stands on its own merit", giving it four out of five stars.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 7005636, State of Happiness Television shows set in Norway Television series set in the 1970s Norwegian drama television series 2018 Norwegian television series debuts Works about petroleum